Lyra Valkyria Explains The Meaning Behind Her WWE Entrance

Lyra Valkyria has one of the most memorable entrances in WWE today, with her colorful feathered gear, bird wings and the enhanced clouds of smoke that accompanies her to the ring setting her apart from the rest of the roster. Since arriving to the company, many have questioned whether Valkyria's appearance was inspired by a fictional character from a movie, or was an idea that she brainstormed on her own, and during a recent interview on "Insight," the 28-year-old revealed the origin of her entrance.

"So on the Independents, I wrestled as Valkyrie. That's not Marvel character-based, not bird-based. It's actually from my favorite book, which is written by an Irish author ... The main character was 12, living in Dublin, starts this whole new secret life, she has to take on a name to start this new life, and she calls herself Valkyrie. So I started that, and until I went to WWE, I never used the kind of imagery that's associated with the Valkyrie at all." 

The Women's Intercontinental Champion started using gear influenced by the book in "WWE NXT UK," and despite having to change her name from Aoife Valkyrie to Lyra Valkyria when she began wrestling in the United States, she tried to maintain the original imagery of the persona. She also ended up contacting the author of the book, Derek Landy, who suggested she focuses her appearance on a character called The Morrigan, who resembles the aspects of a raven.

"The Morrigan basically transforms into a raven or crow and hovers over the battlefield and decides who's going to win a battle. So I was like, that's really cool. I went down that rabbit hole, and it's just a very cool female warrior character who transforms into a raven ... So yeah, that's where it all comes from."

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Insight" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.